Present on the stage (left to right
as viewed from the audience): Town Clerk Donna Decotis, Town Counsel Michael
Donovan, Vice Chairman of the Board of Selectmen Priscilla Jenness, Selectman
Phil Winslow, Finance Director and Assistant Town Administrator Cyndi
Gillespie, Town Administrator Michael Magnant, and Chairman of the Board of
Selectmen Craig Musselman,.Present at
the podium:Bob Eaton, Town
Moderator.

Editor’s
note:The elapsed times are relative to
start of each video segment.Segments
consist of one or more warrant articles.To access the video for a particular warrant article, click on the
heading for the warrant article.The
video will be positioned to the beginning of the segment.You may then use the slider to position the
video to the appropriate elapsed time.The video is available at https://vimeo.com/254861928/

In order to help ensure prompt
compliance with the New Hampshire right-to-know law, shall all Town Boards,
Commissions and Committees be required, starting 30 days after this Article
passes, to:

a.Post all minutes and draft minutes of
meetings on the Town website at the same time that they are first made
available to the public;

b.Notwithstanding whether or not any person is
reviewing draft minutes prior to them being made available, make publicly
available all minutes on the Town website on or before the Due Date, whether or
not an internal review is being conducted and whether or not the minutes are in
draft or final form; and

c.Maintain a log of all meetings, available on the Town website, including
the date of the meeting, the Board, Commission or Committee name, the date that
the minutes are due according to RSA 91-A:2, II (the “Due Date”), the date that
the minutes were sealed, if applicable, the date that the minutes were first
available in draft form to any person other than the transcriptionist, the date
that the minutes were first made available to the public and the date that the
Board, Commission or Committee approved the minutes.

Sam
Winebaum introduced the warrant article.He said that the article reflects the need for continuous improvement in
this area.There have been a lot of
improvements over the last seven or eight years.The minutes are more complete and more timely, but the minutes are still not being made
available, in some cases, within the five days called for by the RSA.This reinforces the RSA and makes sure that
all minutes are posted on the town website, not just in paper form so people
have to come in to see them.Finally it
has a log, which should not be onerous these days.

(1:20 elapsed)

Selectman
Jenness made a motion to delete section c. from the article.Mae Bradshaw seconded.Ms. Jenness referred to the lack of staff at
Town Hall.We consider it to be
burdensome for the staff, she said.

Steven
Borne said that the town has gotten better over the past two or three
years.However, it’s still not meeting
the RSAs.You get the behavior that you
measure.The only way you know that the
requirements are being met is to track it.It can be put in a spreadsheet to do that.Every month, when putting out the Civic News,
I’m looking for the minutes, and it’s not happening.

Mae
Bradshaw said that, as a member of four committees, and chairman of two, she
would have to give up her paying job to have time to track the minutes.

Selectman
Winslow said that he was one of the signatories on the petitioned article about
six years ago to have video streaming.That was important for opening up transparency.Someone who is really interested in what
happened at a particular meeting simply needs to go to the Town website and
look at the streaming.This is burdensome
and would put an additional burden on the staff.Dyana Ledger has stopped transcribing for a
number of committees, he said.

Bill
Epperson said that, as Chairman of the Planning Board, the minutes and the need
to transcribe them accurately has been an unbelievably tough job for all
persons involved.The RSA, unless I’m mistaken,
says that the minutes have to be an accurate representation of what happened in
the meeting.They don’t have to be
verbatim or transcribed as spoken but the spirit of what was said has to be
reflected, he said.

(9:00 elapsed)

Peter Crawford said that a
number of the issues are being confused.One is that, whatever this Article does, it’s not going to change state
law.The RSA is actually pretty simple.The minutes have to be done within five days,
the votes that were taken need to be recorded, and who spoke needs to be
recorded.I spoke to Mike Magnant about
two or three years ago about simplifying the load on the transcriptionist
because we have the video streaming.Mr.
Winslow is absolutely right.People can
go to that.The problem is that the
meetings are often four hours.To try to
go through an entire meeting to find the part you are interested in is
something that will only be done if you’re focused on the issue.What people want to know is what happened.That’s what
the RSA requires.Within five days you
have to record the votes that were taken.If you don’t have what paragraph c. provides, which is the log of the
meetings, you don’t have a process that you can control and you track relative
to the goals.You don’t know whether the
five days are being met or not.Often
what happens, and I don’t know why, we’re repeatedly seeing minutes
backdated.On Saturday, someone may
visit the website and see that the minutes are not there.Then, on Monday, they see that the minutes
are there but are backdated to the prior Wednesday.I suspect that it’s due to the minutes having
been put up in draft form but not linked to.Without tracking you don’t have the ability to engage in continuous
improvement.

Moderator
Eaton said that the article, with the amendment, would read:

“In order to help ensure prompt
compliance with the New Hampshire right-to-know law, shall all Boards,
Commissions and Committees be required to post all minutes and draft minutes on
the town website.”

Selectman Winslow said that they
want to have transparency.While I respect
Peter for a lot of things, I take exception to his comment about it taking four
hours to get through the video of a four hour meeting.A lot of times you can take a look at the
agenda and, if it’s the last thing on the agenda, you go to the last ten minutes
of the meeting. You don’t have to wait five days.

Steven
Borne said that puts it back to where it is today.If we really want to make improvements, allow
people to track what’s going on and keep them engaged and informed, Town Hall
Streaming allows chapters.Editor’s note:Town Hall Streaming is the organization that
provides the video streaming services for the Town Hall, Library and Junior
High.Mr. Borne said that the times
when issues were talked about can be set after the meeting.Posting those links with the draft meeting
minutes would help everyone tremendously.You could just go back and drop the times into the agenda, which would
make it easier to use Town Hall Streams.

Karen
Oliver offered a friendly amendment as the Library posts its minutes on its own
website.She also said that the same
might apply to the School.Moderator
Eaton suggested adding at the end “except for Library minutes which will be posted
on the Library website and School Board minutes which shall be posted on the
School Board website.”

There was
discussion about adding language for the School but it was decided that the
School District was separate and irrelevant to this vote.Ms. Oliver said that she was OK with adding
the language for just the Library.Selectmen
Winslow and Musselman agreed.

Shawn Crapo
referred to instantaneous access to the website, and suggested a friendly
amendment to change the article to “to see if the town will require compliance
with the New Hampshire right-to-know law by all town boards, commissions and
committees.”Some may have posted on a
bulletin board, he said.

Selectman
Winslow accepted the friendly amendment.

Moderator
Eaton read the amendment.He asked what
it would say if the voters rejected the article.

Bill Epperson
agreed with Mr. Crapo but is also supportive of Steven Borne with regard to
placing the chapters on the video.He
said that that would be very helpful.

Moderator
Eaton expressed the opinion that, if the town rejected the article as amended,
it would be unenforceable as it would be illegal.

Sam
Winebaum said that, by removing the requirement to post all minutes on the town
website, that provides an opening to go
backwards.He also referred to the lack
of thereinforcement
of the five day requirement in b., and the issue with delays due to internal
reviews prior to posting.He said that
he is against the amendment without b. being included.

Moderator
Eaton said that Mr. Crapo’s amendment had been accepted by Selectman Musselman.

Jaci Grote
called the question.Sally King
seconded.The motion carried.

The
amendment passed.

(22:48 elapsed)

Alex
Herlihy said that he had been doing the concise summaries of the Planning Board
and ZBA meetings for the Civic News.It
doesn’t take long as it consists only of what the proposal was and what the
vote was.That could easily be complied
with in five days.It’s certainly much
harder to get all of the minutes out.He
asked Bill Epperson whether that was reasonable.To tell people that something was defeated
you have to go into the video streaming, he said.

Someone
moved the question.Moderator Eaton
neither identified the person who made the motion nor asked whether there was a
second.

The motion
carried.Moderator Eaton ordered the
article to appear on the ballot as written.

“Should all
dogs on town property (inclusive of town woods and beaches) be required to be
on a leash at all times except for Foss Beach.”

Kevin Kobylinski addressed.He said that he had lived in Rye for over 10
years.We have a dog.She is a part of the family, but we can’t
walk her on the beach or in the woods.She only gets along with fifty percent of the dogs that she meets.We bring her to areas where there are not
dogs running around off leash.A couple
of weeks ago, I was attacked by two loose dogs in Rye woods.Neither was on a leash.The dog owner did not apologize, but said
that the dogs had been intimidated by his dark clothing.I’m not a person who is easily intimidated by
dogs, he said.

I’ve seen
an increase in dogs in the past ten years, Mr. Kobylinski said.He referred to websites that direct people to
bring their dogs to Rye’s woods and beaches.A leash law will not ruin the happiness of our furry friends.Many people would feel more comfortable in
the woods and on the beaches if there were a leash law.They say “love can be found at the end of a
leash.”Having a dog on a leash shows
that you love that dog, he said.

Mark Epply
said that there is no doubt that there have been some dog issues, probably more
recently than in the past.But, dogs
need exercise. You can’t throw balls or
Frisbees or allow them to swim in the ocean if they are leashed.It seems overly restrictive.We formed ROMP (Rye Owners Monitoring Pets) a
number of years ago.The mission of that
is to educate pet owners about keeping their dogs under control and allow them
to enjoy the freedom.We now have over
140 members.There are people coming
from out of town that are causing there to be a lot more dogs than in the
past.At the Selectmen’s meeting on
January 22 there were a number of people who spoke in favor of solutions to
make everyone happy.There were some
good suggestions made.I suggest that we
slow this down and form a committee.Next year we could have a warrant article that would solve the
problem.He proposed an amended warrant
article:

“Should all dogs on town property
(inclusive of town woods and beaches) be under control of the dog owner or
walker at all times.Dogs not under control must be leashed.”

Karen Oliver seconded.

Dave Tilton
said that he has a dog.He asked whether
the Selectmen had dogs.Selectman Winslow said that he has
grandchildren in town who have dogs.

Mr. Tilton
said that he has 56 acres that extends from Washington Rd. to the Rec.
Area.All 56 acres is wildlife habitat,
including the lawn.If there are deer
feeding on the lawn the dog is not allowed out.What is happening today is not effective.I have trail cameras on the property.The wildlife can be anywhere on the
property:fisher, otter, raccoons, skunks.You name
it.Section 466:3 of the state law says
that “it shall be unlawful for the owner or custodian of any dog to permit such
dog to run at large in territory inhabited by game birds, etc.”Editor’s
note:N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. (“RSA”) 466:3
goes on to include quadrupeds as well.Since the first of the year, I have pictures of 19 dogs on my property,
coming off of the town land.That’s a
violation of the game law.They’re under
their control?Well, if they’re under
control that means you’re allowing them to break the law and come onto my
property.It’s been over two years.It’s been the same thing, over and over
again.When are we going to get
something done?I certainly hope
something good comes out of the whole thing before it’s finally over.

Mike Garvan
said that he agrees with Mr. Tilton and others who have dog issues on the
beaches and in the Town Forest.The way
that the original article was written it would also include other areas.I don’t think that that is appropriate.I’m on the Conservation Commission.We have numerous properties with trails.There are 200 acres or more of these
properties.There is information on
those on the town website.On those
properties, dogs under control should be allowed without leashes.We’ve been trying to address this problem.It is a problem of education.There are definitely bad owners.Mr. Tilton has proof of numerous instances of
trespassing.Chief Walsh has established
a working group with people on all sides of the issue.Recently the Conservation Commission has
voted to have a leash required zone within the first 150 feet of the Town
Forest at all of the four major entry points.This came about in part due to a suggestion from Chief Walsh.We hope that that will educate the dog
owners.There will be a sign indicating
that being under control requires that the dog be in sight and able to be
recalled immediately upon voice command and sit by the owner’s side.The Town Forest Management Plan is being
updated and will be updated in the Spring.There are a number of solutions that we are
looking at.Mr. Tilton has been a good
and patient neighbor.I ask that the
Town be a little more patient and maybe next year we can have a warrant article
with controls in place that will be effective, he said.

An
individual from 39 Pine St. said that he is a dog owner and, when he moved to
Rye, one of the things that he was most excited about was the leash law
here.The problem is not dogs being on
or off leash, but the lack of enforcement of the current law.It is as much dog walker’s fault as it is non
dog walker’s fault as it is law enforcement’s fault.This year is the first year that I’ve seen
clear signage.On the beach, 95 percent
of the people in January are dog walkers.

Lisa, also
from 39 Pine St., said that they go to the beach and have had no issues.We’re talking about isolated incidents.People aren’t speaking up.Do people follow up and call the police?Even if this law were put in effect, nothing
would change.It just overly restricts
those who are following the law.It
would really change our lifestyle.Hopefully we can find a way to work together as a community and make
sure that there is no longer a problem.There was applause.

Sam
Winebaum said that the amendment was a good idea, but asked where the teeth
are.I don’t have a dog, but I have
experience where runners were attacked and bitten or jumped on practically
daily.The area had a leash law, except
on private property.The police and
animal control suddenly started enforcing it vigorously.Everyone got a fine.They did that for about two weeks, with $200
fines.Then they said OK, the issue is
untrained dogs and lack of control.We
are going to allow dogs off leash but under the conditions that the dog must be
under control, and not within 150 ft. of a trailhead.They also designated areas where dogs could
be unleashed.The dog walkers who were
walking aggressive dogs in groups completely disappeared from these areas.It’s a process but there needs to be
teeth.I’d like to see more enforcement
with stiff fines.The dog owners have a
responsibility to keep their dogs under control at all times.That’s easier said than done.They have to be well-trained.

(47:28 elapsed)

John Bellino said that there’s
no easy solution.He has had dogs.I would hate to see the ability for dogs to
be unleashed in the parks eliminated.We
all have a fellow resident and neighbor who had to defend his animals using
violent force.We all have friends who
are responsible dog owners, but a lot of them aren’t.There was an amendment.I think we can study a little more, but I
don’t think we can wait another year.I
don’t have the answer.

Matt Marra
said that he had been a Rye resident for two years.He raised a concern about concentrating dogs
on one beach.He referred to Nahant, MA
which is a disaster with e..coli.He offered a friendly amendment to included
Pirates’ Cove and Wallis Beach.He also
referred to electric collars.

Mr. Epply
said that the warrant article as amended includes all beaches so there is no
need to include additional beaches.

Shawn Crapo
says that the existing law is difficult to enforce as “under control” is
subject to interpretation.I’ve seen
both of my kids be knocked over by a dog that the owner would say was under control.He spoke about dog waste being left because
it would be washed away within 12 hours.He spoke about the possibility of dogs being certified with a tag
indicating that they are under control.Short of that I think the amendment should fail.

Doug Nelson
said that there were fewer issues with dogs off leashes.I support Mr. Epply, he said.There was applause.

Tom King
said that he supports the amendment.We
have gone through this a few times.We
think we (meaning those who like to walk their dogs) have made a pretty
reasonable accommodation.We’ve
separated the beaches in time and space.Dogs are not allowed on the state beaches.If you have to go to a Rye Beach you can go
between 9:00 and 7:00 during the summer and, theoretically, you won’t see a
dog.That seems reasonable.People with dogs pay taxes too.We want to be able to enjoy our animals.Mr. King spoke about the trails not being
wide enough to prevent leashed dogs from interacting.This comes down to personal responsibility. If someone’s dog goes to the bathroom on the
beach, I have to believe that, if you forgot your bag, there’s probably
somebody within about 50 feet that has one.We pick up more dog poop every time we go to the woods or the beach than
our dogs deposit, for sure.Most people
are like that.Part of the problem is
not having trash cans during the winter.In the summer when the trash cans are there, people pick up trash as
well.That’s one of the reasons the
beaches are as clean they are.Beauty is
in the eye of the beholder and I don’t think love is at the end of a
leash.What’s love is not being on a
leash.There was applause.

Maggie
Hannah said that she also abuts the conservation land.She said that she enjoys having her dogs off
leash.Dogs are going to poop on the
beach or on the trail whether they are on leash or not, so I don’t see how that
is an issue.There’s more signage in
woods and more dog poop bags now.I have
seen a lot more dogs under control.I
have less than an acre and there’s no way my dog would get the necessary
exercise.One of the reasons I moved
where I did was that there would be the trails on which my dog could be walked,
she said.

Jaci Grote
called the question.There was a second
from an unknown person.The motion carried.

Moderator
Eaton then called for a vote and reread the amendment:

“Should all dogs on town property
(inclusive of town woods and beaches) be under control of the dog owner or
walker at all times.Dogs not under control must be leashed.”

The motion to amend carried.

The
question was moved by Jaci Grote.Mr.
Nelson seconded.The motion
carried.

Shawn
Crapo moved to reconsider.Scott Marion
seconded.Mr. Marion explained that
Chief Walsh had been trying to speak.

Moderator
Eaton called for a vote.He then called
for a hand count.Shawn Crapo was one of
those counting.Moderator Eaton said
that the motion passed 41-37.

Police
Chief Walsh said that prior and current Selectmen had made it crystal clear to
department heads that there should be no new full-time employees.It has long-term effects on the budget.The police officers and I have batted this
around.The statistics on Animal Control
calls are:

2014557

2015531

2016368

2017370 (93 on beach)

We’re issuing tickets.When the officers come back with warnings the
Chief tells them it should be a ticket.“Under control” is very wide open.Who knows how a judge is going to rule on that.We’re leaving Dow Ln. and other areas needing
enforcement to go to the Town Forest and the beaches for complaints about
dogs.The purpose of the leashes is to
self regulate.We’re going to brainstorm to come up with a solution.What you’re asking to be done is time
consuming.

In
2016, on July 3 there were 53 dogs on the beach.How many officers have to stand there to
watch 53 dogs that the other dogs don’t get out of control and get into a fight.How many
multiple areas to we have to watch, plus the other quality of life complaints
that people ask us to handle.It’s
difficult at best with the staff that we have.

We
had an unfortunate incident.It is going
to court.At the end of the day when
that case is disposed of, both sides are going to regret what happened.It’s gotten to a level where people are going
beyond the scope of respect for each other.The words of the Town enforce, but we’re going to do the best we
can.We’re going to put the ideas out
and if we can come up with changes I’ll go to the Board with them.We want everyone to enjoy their dogs but we
also want it to be safe.I want it to be
clear that I represent some of the people who won’t speak up but don’t go to
the beaches or the Town Forest because they know there are
so many dogs.I just don’t think that’s
fair.I want to be able to look at these
folks and say you can go because there are safety measures in place.There was applause.

Moderator
Eaton said that the reconsideration had been for the limited purpose of
allowing Chief Walsh to speak.He
ordered Article 34 to appear on the ballot as amended.

There
was a motion to restrict reconsideration and a second, which passed.

Article 35:Sale of surplus town property (69:26 elapsed)

Moderator
Eaton read the warrant article.

Selectman
Jenness spoke to the article.She said
that it speaks for itself.

Scott
Marion called the question.Burt Dibble
seconded.Moderator Eaton called for the
votes in favor.He then said “all
opposed,” followed by “don’t you dare.”The motion carried and Moderator Eaton ordered the article to appear on
the ballot as written.

Article 36:Other business (70:25 elapsed)

Moderator
Eaton read the warrant article and then said “go Patriots.”He then declared the Deliberative Session
adjourned at 5:11 p.m.